We’re used by now to seeing military aircraft link up in the sky with flying fuel tankers as a means to get extra dose of juice, and that’s one very spectacular (and demanding) sight. But there are more ways of doing refueling operations, all of them on the ground, of course.
Generally speaking, military aircraft are being fueled up on the ground just before their missions, but it may very well happen these beasts could be in need of a refill sooner or later. If that happens, there are two ways of going about this.
The first would be the slow way, which involves the plane landing, shutting down its engines, going through a variety of checks, getting its dose, then starting up and taking off all over again.
The fast way is called hot pit refueling. Tankers, hoses and personnel are deployed close to the runway, waiting for the aircraft to come in. Once on the tarmac, planes are fueled while the engines are still running, significantly cutting down the time needed to get the fighters back in the air again, and increasing the number of such machines in the air at the same time.
It is exactly such a hot pit refueling we’re seeing in the video below, applied at an undisclosed location by ground crews on F-16 Fighting Falcons.
The video, released by Military in Action, shows the airplanes coming in for a refueling, and being linked up to a massive hose that sticks into a tanker at the other end, all while the engine is still roaring.
Generally, the F-16s can fly on hi-lo-hi missions, with bombs, for just 339 miles (546 km), but when one adds drop tanks, loses the bombs, and keeps things steady, range jumps to a staggering 2,600 miles (4,200 km).
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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